Monday, June 30, 2008

Nestibility-Challenged

Too much sun today? Too many rocks I raked? Too long of a stamping-lull? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME!?! I needed to stamp. Tough day, and thought I'd try to slip into my stamping space (step over boxes, clear off a space) and stamp. 10 minutes... I could make a simple card, yes? Thought I'd *finally* pull out and try my new nestibilities!! First attempt -- crooked. Second attempt -- poor imprint. Third attempt -- cut instead of emboss. *sigh* Head to the computer for help.... I knew I had saved a tutorial somewhere. YES! Here it was... "A Day In the Life" By Gina K. I was DETERMINED NOT to walk outta the room until I had a card made & photographed. Hubby called... I made you a drink... come sit on the deck...
I quickly stamped my sentiment, grabbed my camera, snapped a pic, and headed outside to be greeted to this!!!

A tough day, my hubby's amazing iced coffee... life can still be good :) !
I'll show you the card tomorrow :) LOL
.j.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

LONG weekend


Well I hope everyone is enjoying this "long" weekend.... not really with Canada Day being on Tuesday and not the Monday, but enjoyable just the same :)
Hope to get some stamping in, but boy -- life creeps in these days with the move coming up and the FRANTIC finish of the house... s-t-r-e-s-s I tell ya! :)

THIS TOO SHALL PASS :)))) It's all about the journey, right?

Friday, June 27, 2008

I've been Tagged!


Thanks Giavona :)

Name 5 things that I do for myself
1. Delish coffee in the morning -- Mmmmm. My one savored cup of the day!
2. Run
3. Stamp & Scrapbook :) but of course!
4. sheesh.... i can't think of too many things here :)
5. get hugs whenever I want from my munchkins & hubby :)))) Love that!

Name 5 kind things I do for friends, my children or partner:
1. I've made my hubby's lunch our entire marriage :)
2. Read stories to my little ones
3. Sing them to sleep when they are scared
4. Be a good listener & try to always be available.
5. Make family dinner a priority

Name 5 kind things I've done for a strangers:
1. Smile
2. Made a meal in a time of need
3. Bagged groceries for the lady behind me :) she said I got a 'gold star' Funny thing is, it actually made MY day... isn't that usually how it goes!
4. Prayed for them
5. Support world missions

Name 5 hobbies I enjoy:
1. Stamping
2. Scrapbooking
3. Running
4. Photography - got my new camera on my birthday! woohooo!
5. Baking

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Sarah's little heart.


Been MIA for awhile here. Trying to organize the what,when, and hows of moving -- then thinking of countless ways to avoid packing. Then it hits me to just START, and as soon as that feeling hits me it's gone again :). So there's been lots of sorting, but the number of boxes packed & labeled is only 3. LOL. So I'm thinking that going to the movies tonight will help! LOL. Who can resist GET SMART?!

No stamping, but a cute story. My littlest one (7) came inside weeping & wailing. She was out go-carting & looked down at her special little ring we bought her in Aruba and the stone was gone. Oh the poor thing. Her shoulders were shaking and she was DEVASTATED! PLEEEEZE Mama, help me find it, pleeeeeeeze. Yes, we live on 3.5 acres. *sigh*. I gave her a big hug, dried her tears and tried to show her that the ring was still pretty. Awww, but it was so special because it changes color with the sun. So I took her by the hand, said a special little prayer and off we went in search of a tiny little heart, no bigger than a pea! Needle in a haystack comes to mind. I looked out over the yard and we started looking.... no sooner did we start when I found that tiny little heart. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Oh, she was jumping up & down, beyond excited... thank you Mommy, thank you Mommy, you're the BEST MOMMY EVER! *sigh*.... love that! So... we came in and pulled out the handy-dandy CRYSTAL EFFECTS and glued that little heart back on. GOOD AS NEW!

So.... who cares about packing boxes, I found my little girls' heart! :)
.j.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Chocolate Topping

OK. DESSERT WAS AMAZING... but... it says it'll serve 10 and that is INSANE! It's soooo delish, but RICH.. whoa baby! EASY 16-20 pieces! Seriously! 2 POUNDS of cream cheese, (yeah, that's 4 blocks!)... rich, rich rich...

OK Kelly.. .for you! Chocolate topping is a must. 5oz. of milk chocolate chips & a 1/4 cup of sour cream. Stir on low heat until smooth, spread on top and stick 'er back in the fridge :)

Also, for cooking I found better instruction and it came out PERFECT. 350 for 15 minutes. Then turn heat down to 200 and cook for 2 HOURS. Bring it out, slide a knife around the edges, TURN THE OVEN OFF, and put it back in for another 2 HOURS... then refrigerate overnight. PERFECT!

enjoy... it's a keeper recipe and YES I'll be running tomorrow!!
.j.

Happy Father's Day :)


Today we're celebrating Father's Day. Hubby just had to leave quick to put his parent's passports on the Greyhound bus -- they left for holidays on Friday and just realized they forgot their passports! :( so we're busy getting our father's day dinner put together & oh yes, that amazing Reese's Peanut Butter cup cheesecake is SITTING IN MY FRIDGE AS WE SPEAK! YUM. Can't wait.
I had a couple of you ask where we're moving.... Alberta :) My hubby & I both grew up in Alberta so it's not "new" to us, but it's been YEARS (more than I care to count!LOL) since we've lived there. We're off to Fort McMurray.... pull out date is July 25th. I'm going to with the kids to stay with my mom for a few weeks while hubby finds us a place to rent & then we'll get settled in before school starts. LOTS of changes, but we're up for the adventure. Doesn't Sarah look like she's ready!? LOL. Lots of family time planned this summer... it'll be wonderful!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

much heartache

Well, last night we told the kids that we were moving.... much heartache in our house. Hate decisions that hurt my babies!!!! So we are Alberta-bound in about a month. So it's been crazy emotional here & I haven't had too much time to get David's father's day book done (gotta have it done by tomorrow!) but I thought I'd share with you the "cover page"... :) I used a chipboard-boardbook I had purchased in a scrapbook store. Thought it would work great, I'm happy with how it's coming along. Nearly done... one set of pages left!

I'll show the rest of the pages next week. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend --

...let the packing begin {sigh}

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Ruggles Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

School is officially finished! Wow. Another year done. We took the kids out for dinner tonight to celebrate their accomplishments, very fun. This weekend we are celebrating our father's day, now that Daddy is home & I found this AMAZING recipe that I think we shall try out (even though ONE SERVING has 110g of FAT!!!!!!!)... unheard of! I didn't even know something could have that much fat in a single serving.... WOW. But we're celebrating Daddy... so it's ok :)

Enjoy the recipe... I'll let you know if we make it!! :)
Ruggles Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
SERVES 10
Ingredients

For The Crust
4 1/2 cups crushed Oreo cookies
1 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
For The Filling
2 lbs cream cheese, softened
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (not natural-style)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 Reese's Peanut Butter cups, broken into small pieces
For The Topping I think I'll do a chocolate topping instead
3 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
Directions
1Please Note****Plan ahead--cheesecake needs to chill for at least 4 hours.
2To Make The Crust:.
3Combine crushed Oreo cookies and peanuts that have been ground in a food processor with the melted butter.
4Pat the crust mixture onto bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan.
5To Make The Filling:.
6Beat cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer until smooth.
7Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
8Add sugar, peanut butter and cream; mix until smooth.
9Stir in vanilla, then fold in peanut butter cup pieces with a rubber spatula.
10Pour filling into prepared crust.
11Place springform pan into a larger baking pan.
12Pour hot water into the larger pan so that the water comes 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan.
13Bake at 275°F 1-1/2 hours, or until firm and lightly browned.
14For The Topping:.
15Combine the sour cream and sugar and spread on the cheesecake.
16Return the cake to the oven for 5 minutes.
17Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for one hour.
18You may run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan somewhat.
19Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

don't you hate it when....

Made the kids' teachers their end of year thank-you cards and I forgot to take pics! *SIGH*. As the kids left for school & my mind wandered to my blog entry, I remembered -- RATS! Even made a shaker card (at my daughter's request!). Guess I'll have to make some more to share with you. One of them was a repeat... have I shown you this one? ....

Daddy arrived late last night so smiles are on all our faces, so happy to have him home again. Tomorrow is the last day of school -- WOW, where did that year go? I really want to get in the habit of scrapbooking a pages each month. Even just one memory of the month -- I scrap for everyone but me, do you ever find that? Well I hope you all enjoy your day. Sunshine is hiding again... I'm certain summer typically comes around this month. :)
.j.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Christmas?


So anyone working on Christmas cards yet ? LOL... NO, I'm not. I saved this one made by a friend of mine, Sarah Soulta-Heller, HI SARAH! I loved it. SO CUTE. I have a little father's day book I'm working on for David that I will share with you (when I know he's not peeking in on here!!) but i had this one on file that I thought I'd share with you for today. Isn't that Christmas tree cute?! And what a great card to do with you little ones... all those circle punches. LOVE IT.

Daddy comes in late tonight so we're all smiles at our house today. The little ones all went to school today so that was a real blessing... hoping you all stay healthy and have a great week!
Jennifer

Monday, June 16, 2008

Father's Day Card - take II

Well, four more days of school, 3 missed hours of sleep last night, 2 sick children: 1 tonsillitis & 1 stomach flu. That's the kick off to summer :( POOR babies. Daddy returns tomorrow night and somehow that will make everything OK :) My oldest said the other night "why do we always get sick & life gets crazy whenever dad leaves?" GOOD QUESTION!! LOL.

Well my Dad's father's day card (first attempt) didn't make it. Just not coming together for me, so decided last night to start afresh and go with the good 'ol SPOTLIGHTING technique. Simple and when you're in a time crunch (or simply don't want to color the WHOLE thing) this is the perfect technique to try out.
1. stamp your image
2. repeat :)
3. use your circle punch and pick a spot (any spot) on one of the images and punch out.
4. color the punched out image and layer on another circle, slightly larger.
5. match it up on your plain image and put your card together.
PERFECT! I thought the card needed some texture, but ribbon on a man's card... difficult to pull off! So I found this piece of *cherish* ribbon and ran it through my wonderful little ribbon iron to get it good & flat, and placed that along the side while adding a little linen thread on either side of it. Started with the knot, but then moved it around simply for the simple line. :)
I'm happy with it and will pop that into the mail today. I know, late. I did phone him & tell him I loved him & that his card was still not in the mailbox. As only a Dad can do.... he said "they're always worth waiting for!" Aaahhhh. I do have a great Dad. I hope you all enjoyed celebrating your Dad's. We're going to celebrate again on Sunday when OUR DADDY is home :)
enjoy your sunny day!
.j.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Happy Father's Day Weekend!

Not enough minutes in my day yesterday to post this card, but we just got in from soccer & I thought I'd quickly post it before getting ready for a couple of birthday parties (I can't decide if JUNE is busier than DECEMBER!) My little one is sick with a bad head cold & laying the couch with blankets & sniffles... poor thing. This is my Father-in-law's Card... my Dad's will be late, grrr. Need to find time... why is that always missing! :)

Enjoy your Father's day weekend. Our Daddy is away so we'll be celebrating next weekend.
.j.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

I got inked!

Yes, 'tis true, I actually stamped TONIGHT! :) Need a couple of Father's Day cards (nothing like a little time crunch to finally get me in there!). I will post the one I made tomorrow for you to see. The second one I started.... naaaa.... I dunno. Just not coming out QUITE RIGHT. And seeing as it's going to be late anyway (how does this always happen?!) I may as well GET IT RIGHT I SAY! :)

My oldest comes home from camp tomorrow... I miss her! Funny, only been gone 3 days (how'd *I* ever survive summer camp) LOL. It's also beach day for the younger two that I will drive for and tag along to. Should be a fun day, although the weather isn't screamin' BEACH DAY!!!! it'll still be nice to get out, relax, and enjoy some play time. Sure been missin' that.

We made it to the park when the rain decided not to fall a week or two ago and I loved this shot I got of the girls :) Welcome to the weekend.... hope it's a good one!
.j.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

This is why COFFEE was created!!

After such a crazy day yesterday I was certain today would be better.. right?! Last night my daughter was up until 10:30 packing for her camping trip, and once I got her snuggled into bed, I was up until at least midnight finishing up. OH right, forgot I had baking to do for my little one's tea for the following day.... quickly got that done & thought to be organized I'd get all the lunches made... let's have a smooth morning, shall we? My kids don't sleep in.... you see where this is going, don't you! My oldest had to be at school at 8am so I crawled into bed feeling good about what we got done and drifted off to sleep. I rolled over, looked at the clock, blinked, rubbed my eyes, blinked again... 7:57!!!!!!!!!!!! ACK.... everyone was SOUND ASLEEP! I don't even think *I've* slept in until 8am for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG!!! I jumped outta bed, woke up Megan telling her not to panic but it was time to go, rushed down to get the courtesy car packed (PRAYED IT WOULD START, it did!) and we were out the door in 10 minutes!! OH MY GOODNESS. She was awesome in just staying calm and getting down. Thankfully it was chaos at the school so I dropped her off and sped off back home to collect the other two, who were indeed late for school. I got back home, poured a big cup of coffee & caught my breath. What is WITH this week?! So now I'm dashing off to the tea at my little one's grade one classroom :) TOO CUTE! I found this scrapbook page I had done & thought I could use a little summer sunshine & beach time today! :))))
I hope your day is not as breathless as mine!
.j.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

a simple birthday


I find one of the hardest cards to do are for males! Not sure why, but I'm always trying to find a good sketch for a male - not too fluffy - kinda card! I came up with this card awhile ago. Punched out the shooting star to pop it up a bit (not sure if you can see that in the photo) and I think it works OK for a man's card. :) What do you think?

Well, after a scramble to get ready school, having the courtesy car NOT START, getting my sil to drive the kids to school, my running partner to pick me up for our run, and getting a small dent in the PILE of laundry on the go... this is shaping up to be quite the day. Now to figure out how to get my errands done without a vehicle, get the kids & get to a soccer game this evening... ah yes, the joys of a crazy life. I see now why bears took up hibernation!!!
enjoy your day {smiles}
.j.

Monday, June 09, 2008

And the winner is....

Well the winner of the leaf embellishments is GIOVANA! I think I've sent you something before Giovana -- you're lucky again :)
Giovana said...
Hi Jen,
I am glad you are back blogging, BTW the recipe below is great!!!
I linked your blog candy on my blog: http://giovana-believe.blogspot.com/2008/06/just-in-case.html
I love blog candy!!!!
God bless
Giovana

So Giovana, email me your mailing address at jdgray94@shaw.ca and I'll get these in the mail to you :)

Busy day with the kids home (day off school) and my youngest was being poked at the Dr's office for more allergy testing. Things are looking better though & she's allowed to go back onto a normal, REGULAR diet! yeah!! I'm not sure who was happier - her or me! I'm so thankful she can enjoy some of her favorites again :)

I got a new stamp today that I was ITCHING to play with and the Copic paper arrived, but... my oldest had two huge projects that are due tomorrow and has a big campout with her class this week, so I had the teacher hat on and we worked on it all day long. Then some study time for a math test and the night was over. Tomorrow.... think I could play tomorrow? :)

hope you were drowning in all this rain as we have been -- crazy!!
.j.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

always card


First off, I apologize for the few photos that I have taken. Bad lighting and little time is my only excuse. I'll make sure my next batch have genuine sunshine (what does that look like again?!) Wow... have we had rain and wet weather. {insert much whining and complaining here} LOL. Thanks for the comments, feels good to be back blogging. Life is going to be crazy the next couple of weeks as school is ALMOST DONE -- yeeeeehawwwww.... but I hope to check in each day, so please do leave me a comment & say hello so that I know someone is out there! :)

I made this card awhile back with a retired set called gently falling. Sweet set. I used some hodgepoge on there and assorted blue cardstock. Very simple card. I just ordered a new stamp and REAL COPIC paper (might arrive tomorrow!!) so I hope to work my butt off tomorrow so I can find a WEE bit of play time. Took hubby to the airport today so that's always tough. Growing very weary of him working in another province! Hope to chance that by the end of summer!! Stay tuned :) So kids were weepy at bedtime. My little boy (age 9) is always so tough. He was very quietly reading his book and when I peeked on him in bed & asked him how he was he just shrugged his shoulder & said... "I could use a hug". MELT MY HEART!! Then to feel his little body shake with tears and a choked out "I miss Dad"... *sigh*. Makes me KNOW we're making the right choice in moving to be together.... even though we have to say goodbye to the house. *double sigh* I'm amazed at one can give up to keep a family together & strong. It's amazing. I'm very thankful.

I hope you all have a great week! I've been so out of the loop -- what's everyone working on?

.j.

Friday, June 06, 2008

Pictureless Giveaway :)

No photo of the giveaway today... but I have one :)

I have a set of DECORATIVE ACCENTS (linen leaves). These can be used as accents on both cards & scrapbooks. SO... to get in on the draw, leave me a comment & a link to a blog you enjoy. I love drinking my morning coffee looking at blogs and feeding off of everyone! LOL -- very inspiring.

I hear sunshine (still no heat) is around the corner so I'm hoping for an UMBRELLA-FREE soccer game tomorrow morning!!! :) Hope you all have a great weekend, I'll *draw* a winner sometime on Monday.

enjoy your day,
.j.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Starbuck’s Chocolate Fudge Squares with Mocha Glaze

I see my last couple of photos are very "warm" looking... took them inside without true lighting.. sorry about that. I thought it was time to share a recipe :) haven't tried these out, but BOY do they look YUMMY. If you make them (before I do) PLEASE drop me a comment and let me know what you think of 'em :) Enjoy!!!
.j.

Starbuck’s Chocolate Fudge Squares with Mocha Glaze

½ cup unsalted butter at room temp.*
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
½ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup chopped walnuts

Glaze
1 generous cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup brewed double-strength coffee (dark roast)

**Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8” square baking pan. To make fudge squares: in a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar & egg. In a small bowl, sift together the flour & baking powder. Add to butter mixture. Then add the melted chocolate, being careful not to over-beat. Add the milk, vanilla & walnuts, stirring just to blend.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when pressed lightly, about 30 min. Allow the cake to cool completely. Meanwhile make glaze.

To Make Glaze: In a med. Bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter, chocolate & vanilla. Stir in the coffee and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate the glaze until cool, then pour over the top of the cake & cut the cake into squares.

**do not use fat-reduced butter or stick marg. The water content doesn’t give good results in cooking .

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Celebrate


This is one of those cards that has a little bit of everything. Watercoloring (with Stampin' Up!'s watercolor crayons - love those!!), faux stitching (if you don't have a sewing machine this is great -- just punch holes and use a white gel pen to join those dots!!), ribbon as corner accents, and I love using the slit punch to slip the card front *base* into... little brad in there to finish it off. It has been VERY wet here on the island and so the soft colors played well with the umbrella :). Hoping summer finds its way to us!!
What have you all been working on? I'll post a freebie on friday :).... stay tuned!
enjoy your day.
.j.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Scrappin'


I must admit, I love the little 6x6 scrapbooks. Yes, you can only fit a photo or two on a page but they are SO QUICK. here's a little spread I did awhile back from last summer. I loved that SU design paper (went great with my daughter's bathing suit) so it was the perfect choice for this simple layout. Anyone else dress their kids a certain way (or with a certain color) when you KNOW it will be scrapbooked!? LOL. Too funny.

Hope you're all enjoying your day!
.j.